Georgia Federal Tax Conference
June 6-7, 2007 | Cobb Galleria Centre

Speaker Biographies and Photos

Professor Pennell is the Richard H. Clark Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, an Advisor for Restatement of the Law (Third) of Property — Wills and Other Donative Transfers, and an Associate Reporter for Restatement of the Law (Third) of Trusts. He is the successor author of Casner & Pennell on ESTATE PLANNING (6th ed.), and various books, portfolios, monographs, articles, and institute chapters.

Ronald D. Aucutt is a partner in the McLean, Virginia office of McGuireWoods LLP and is the group leader of the firm’s Private Wealth Services Group. Mr. Aucutt concentrates on planning and controversy matters involving the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, the income taxation of trusts and estates, the rules regarding tax-exempt organizations and charitable contributions. He received a B.A. degree in 1967 and a J.D. degree in 1975, both from the University of Minnesota.

Alan F. Rothschild, Jr. is a partner with the law firm of Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis & Rothschild, LLP in Columbus, Georgia.  He focuses his practice on estate planning, charitable giving and the representation of exempt organizations.  Alan has spoken on these subjects at programs sponsored by the American and Georgia Bar Associations, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Georgia Federal Tax Conference, Association of Governing Boards and the Southeastern Council of Foundations. His articles on charitable planning and exempt organizations have been published in Taxation of Exempts, ACTEC Journal, Estate Planning and Probate & Property.  Alan is fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, serves on the leadership council of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and is the current chair of the State Bar of Georgia’s Fiduciary Law Section.

Dave Polstra is Chairman of Brightworth, a leading wealth management firm in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. As personal wealth advisor to high net worth families, Dave provides comprehensive financial, tax, and investment strategies, specializing in the areas of retirement transition planning, executive compensation, estate and charitable planning.  He is a member of the fee-only National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). He serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Retirement Planning, on the Board of Directors of The Atlanta Estate Planning Council, and on the Board of Eagle Ranch children's home. He is also Chairman of the Board for Medical Missions Ministries, an organization that helps provide free medical clinics to the rural poor of Guatemala.

Larry White is a partner in the Atlanta office of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. He attended Vanderbilt University, and Law School at the University of Virginia, where he was a Notes Editor on the Virginia Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.  Larry has published articles in Taxation for Lawyers, Taxation for Accountants and BNA’s Estates, Gifts, and Trusts Journal.  He has also lectured on several occasions at the Fiduciary Law Institute and the Athens Estate Planning Institute, both sponsored by the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, as well as at the Georgia Federal Tax Conference, the Kentucky Tax Institute and the Southern California Estate Planning Institute.  Larry is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2003-2004 and 2005-2006.  He is a past Board member of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and a past Chair of the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia.

Ed Manigault is a partner in the Private Capital Practice of Jones Day.  Ed concentrates his practice in the areas of income and transfer tax planning for high net worth families and their affiliated entities, including trusts, partnerships, and corporations. Ed also represents public charities and private foundations on a variety of tax and non-tax legal issues.  He has spoken at seminars on tax planning and is the author or co-author of several articles published in the Journal of Taxation, Estate and Personal Financial Planning, Tax Notes Today, and Probate & Property. Ed is listed in Who’s Who in American Law (14th ed.).  Ed attended Clemson University (B.S. in Financial Management 1992) and Emory University School of Law (J.D. 1995).

Sharon L. Scott, CPA, is an experienced tax practitioner and well-known presenter of continuing professional education for CPAs and attorneys. She is a co-founder of Nichols Education Corporation, the predecessor to Nichols, CPE, Inc.  Practicing from her offices in Perrysburg, Ohio, Sharon serves small businesses and individuals focusing on wealth accumulation and tax planning and compliance issues. Applying her practice experience to today’s tax issues, she is nationally recognized as a highly rated developer and presenter of CPE and CLE. She is a cum laude graduate of Ohio University, with majors in economics and secondary education, Sharon later added graduate training in accounting to her existing degree. Recognized for her ability to communicate tax information in a most useful and intelligible manner, Sharon is noted for her enthusiasm for the profession and ability to convey a client-service attitude to the course participants, which is reflected in CPE course ratings that have ranked her among the best in the nation for the past twenty-two years.

Alson R. Martin is a member of Lathrop & Gage, LC in Overland Park, Kansas. He represents over four hundred qualified retirement plans and several hundred professional practices and privately owned businesses, and has actively worked with them in connection with buy-in/buy-out issues, compensation arrangements, health law (Stark II, fraud & abuse, billing rules, etc.), anti-trust, business, fringe benefits, tax, and related matters, as well as mergers, joint ventures, independent practice associations, and practice sales.  In addition, he represents over 25 ambulatory surgery centers and specialty hospitals in Kansas City and around the country.  Education:  1976 LL.M. (Taxation), New York University School of Law; 1971 J.D., cum laude, New York University School of Law; 1968 B.A., highest distinction, University of Kansas; Phi Beta Kappa; Student Body President.

Angela L. Evans is a partner with Ernst & Young’s tax practice with more than 17 years of experience serving Fortune 1000 clients in the retail, distribution, consumer products and transportation services industries.  She specializes in the taxation of corporations and assists in the coordination of all tax services.  Angela   serves currently as the tax practice Retail/Wholesale Sector Leader as well as the Consumer Products Sector Co-Leader for the America’s.  Additionally, she serves as the Retail/Wholesale and Consumer Products Leader for the firm’s Southeast Area, as well as the Tax Accounting and Risk Advisory Services Leader (TARAS) for the Southeast.

Mary (“Handy”) Hevener is a partner in the Tax Department of the Washington, D.C. office of Baker & McKenzie, where she concentrates her practice in the benefits provided to employees and independent contractors (including corporate directors) outside of qualified retirement plans.  These include stock options and other stock-based compensation, executive income deferrals, golden parachutes, and all types of fringe benefits, ranging from health and life insurance to employee loans, to cars, planes, and prizes.  Mary’s focus is taxation of compensation paid by multinational corporations to workers in U.S. and overseas.

Peter Genz is a partner in King & Spalding LLP's Tax Practice Group.  His practice concentrates on corporate, partnership, and real estate tax matters, with particular emphasis on tax planning relating to public and private real estate investment trusts (REITs) and investments by tax-exempt organizations and non-U.S. investors in real estate. A graduate of the University of Florida (B.S.B.A. 1975), Mr. Genz earned his law degree from the University of Florida Law School in 1980.  He received a master's degree in taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1982.  Mr. Genz is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and the ABA Section of Taxation Subcommittees on Real Estate and U.S. Activities of Foreigners and Tax Treaties.  He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Federal Tax Institute. Mr. Genz is a member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, as well as a member of its Strategic Planning Advisory Board, the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Cabinet, and the Ivan Allan Society Committee.  He serves on the Addiction/Mental Health Continuum of Care Task Force of the Regional Commission on Homelessness.  Mr. Genz is also a member and chair-elect of the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross, Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter.

Tim Agnew is a partner with the CPA firm Smith & Howard, and Managing Director of their wealth management group, Smith & Howard Financial Group. His expertise on both the tax and investment sides gives him a unique – and comprehensive – view of tax strategies for high-net-worth individuals. Tim earned a BBA in Accounting and a Master of Taxation degree from Georgia State University. He is a member of the AICPA, where he is a participates in the Tax and Personal Financial Planning Division, and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, where he is a member of the Estate Tax Committee. He also is a member of the Atlanta Tax Forum, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and the Financial Planning Association.